User interfaces for providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual

ABSTRACT

Providing supplemental contact information for an individual referenced in an electronic message typically includes receiving an electronic message, examining the electronic message, detecting an identifier for a referenced individual contained in the electronic message, and making supplemental contact information for the referenced individual available to a recipient of the electronic message. The supplemental contact information may include information that is in addition to information contained in the electronic message. The supplemental contact information may include at least one of an e-mail address, a screen name, a telephone number, a facsimile number, and a mailing address each of which is associated with the referenced individual.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/149,368, filed May 31, 2011, and titled “Providing SupplementalContact Information Corresponding to a Referenced Individual”, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/146,814, filed May17, 2002, and titled “Providing Supplemental Contact InformationCorresponding to a Referenced Individual”, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,979,802, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/843,788, filed Apr. 30, 2001, and titled “AutomaticConfiguration of an Alternate Communication Scheme,” which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/201,738, filed May 4,2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/229,311, filed Sep. 1,2000, all of which are incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to online communications systemsand more particularly to an online communications system thatautomatically provides supplemental contact information corresponding toa referenced individual.

BACKGROUND

In the client-server network architecture of the Internet and/or theWeb, electronic documents are stored in computer systems running serverprograms and are accessed by computer systems running client programs.For example, information on the Web is provided by Web servers and isaccessible by a client program such as a Web browser (e.g., Netscape'sNavigator, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or Java's micro-browser).

Information on the Internet and/or Web may be represented by speciallyformatted text files (e.g., Web pages) written in Hypertext MarkupLanguage (“HTML”) or some other markup language, such as XML, HDML,and/or VRML. Each text file may be identified by a network address suchas a Universal Resource Locator (“URL”). A typical Web page may includeone or more hyperlinks referring to the network addresses of other Webpages. Hyperlinks may be displayed as underlined text or graphicalimages that, when clicked, send a request for the associated page. Forexample, when a hyperlink in a home page is selected, a request is sentout by the client to the address specified in the hyperlink, and theassociated Web page is downloaded and displayed, by replacing the homepage on the user's screen with the associated Web page.

Browsers and other client programs typically use a communicationsprotocol such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) to request pagesfrom Web servers. HTTP is a request/response protocol. Through aconnection established between a client and a server, the client sends arequest to the server, and the server provides a response to the client.

An Internet service provider (“ISP”) may be used to provide subscriberswith access to the Internet and/or the World Wide Web (“Web”). Ingeneral, a subscriber relies on an ISP to provide computers that areconnected to and therefore enable communication over the Internet and/orthe Web. An ISP may offer services in addition to basic Internet accesssuch as, for example, providing e-mail and instant messaging servicesthat enable electronic communication, Web-hosting services that allowsubscribers to publish homepages, newsgroup services that allowsubscribers to read and post to newsgroups, and image services thatallow subscribers to view and order digital images of pictures from adeveloped film roll.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, providing supplemental contact information for anindividual referenced in an electronic message typically includesreceiving an electronic message, examining the electronic message,detecting an identifier for a referenced individual contained in theelectronic message, and making supplemental contact information for thereferenced individual available to a recipient of the electronicmessage. The supplemental contact information may include informationthat is in addition to information contained in the electronic message.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the supplemental contact information for the referencedindividual may include an e-mail address, a screen name, a telephonenumber, a facsimile number, and/or a mailing address, each of which isassociated with the referenced individual. The supplemental contactinformation for the referenced individual may include supplementalcontact information that was communicated by the referenced individualto a host that maintains the supplemental contact information. Theelectronic message may include an e-mail message and/or an instantmessage.

A communication scheme may be configured between a sender of theelectronic message and the individual referenced in the electronicmessage using the supplemental contact information. The referencedindividual may include a sender of the electronic message, a recipientof the electronic message, and/or a name included in a body of theelectronic message.

The preferences of the referenced individual may be checked such thatthe supplemental contact information for the referenced individual ismade available according to the preferences of the referencedindividual. Additionally or alternatively, the preferences of therecipient may be checked such that additional supplemental informationis made available for the referenced individual according to thepreferences of the recipient.

A personal address book may be updated with the supplemental contactinformation of the referenced individual. A global address book thatincludes the supplemental contact information for the referencedindividual may be maintained. The global address book may beautomatically updated when the referenced individual makes changes tothe supplemental contact information.

A status of online presence for the referenced individual may be madeavailable. A real time messaging capability of the referenced individualmay be determined such that the real time messaging capability of thereferenced individual may be made available.

An invitation may be sent to the referenced individual to subscribe toan instant messaging service. An invitation to subscribe to an instantmessaging service may be sent to a referenced individual who is not aninstant messaging service subscriber.

An e-mail address may be detected for the referenced individual and adomain may be stripped from the e-mail address such that areverse-lookup may be performed to obtain an instant messaging screenname for the referenced individual. An indicator associated with thereferenced individual may be displayed to indicate availablesupplemental contact information.

The referenced individual may define the rights of recipients forviewing the supplemental contact information associated with thereferenced individual. The referenced individual may define the rightsof recipients for viewing the supplemental contact information to changetemporally. The referenced individual may define the rights ofrecipients to enable only designated recipients to view the supplementalcontact information associated with the referenced individual, onlypersons designated in a personal address book contact to view thesupplemental information associated with the referenced individual,and/or only persons designated in a global address book to view thesupplemental contact information associated with the referencedindividual.

The supplemental contact information may include a screen name, whichmay be added to an instant messaging buddy list. Real time contactinformation for the referenced individual may be made available to therecipient of the electronic message.

In another general aspect, receiving supplemental contact informationfor an individual referenced in an electronic message typically includesreceiving from a host an electronic message that includes an identifierfor a referenced individual and receiving supplemental contactinformation for the referenced individual from the host. Thesupplemental contact information may be in addition to informationcontained in the electronic message.

Implementations may include one or more of the features described above.

These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, amethod, or a computer program, or any combination of systems, methods,and computer programs.

Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description anddrawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications system.

FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are block diagrams of expansions of aspects ofthe block diagram of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flows charts of communications methods that may beimplemented by the system of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11A, and 11B are illustrations of different graphical userinterfaces that may be provided by the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For illustrative purposes, FIGS. 1-5 show an example of a communicationssystem for implementing techniques for transferring electronic data. Forbrevity, several elements in the figures described below are representedas monolithic entities. However, as would be understood by one skilledin the art, these elements each may include numerous interconnectedcomputers and components designed to perform a set of specifiedoperations and/or may be dedicated to a particular geographical region.

Referring to FIG. 1, a communications system 100 is capable ofdelivering and exchanging data between a client system 105 and a hostsystem 110 through a communications link 115. The client system 105typically includes one or more client devices 120 and/or clientcontrollers 125, and the host system 110 typically includes one or morehost devices 135 and/or host controllers 140. For example, the clientsystem 105 or the host system 110 may include one or moregeneral-purpose computers (e.g., personal computers), one or morespecial-purpose computers (e.g., devices specifically programmed tocommunicate with each other and/or the client system 105 or the hostsystem 110), or a combination of one or more general-purpose computersand one or more special-purpose computers. The client system 105 and thehost system 110 may be arranged to operate within or in concert with oneor more other systems, such as, for example, one or more LANs (“LocalArea Networks”) and/or one or more WANs (“Wide Area Networks”).

The client device 120 (or the host device 135) is generally capable ofexecuting instructions under the command of a client controller 125 (ora host controller 140). The client device 120 (or the host device 135)is connected to the client controller 125 (or the host controller 140)by a wired or wireless data pathway 130 or 145 capable of deliveringdata.

The client device 120, the client controller 125, the host device 135,and the host controller 140 each typically include one or more hardwarecomponents and/or software components. An example of a client device 120or a host device 135 is a general-purpose computer (e.g., a personalcomputer) capable of responding to and executing instructions in adefined manner. Other examples include a special-purpose computer, aworkstation, a server, a device, a component, other physical or virtualequipment or some combination thereof capable of responding to andexecuting instructions. The client device 120 and the host device 135may include devices that are capable of peer-to-peer communications.

An example of client controller 125 or a host controller 140 is asoftware application loaded on the client device 120 or the host device135 for commanding and directing communications enabled by the clientdevice 120 or the host device 135. Other examples include a program, apiece of code, an instruction, a device, a computer, a computer system,or a combination thereof, for independently or collectively instructingthe client device 120 or the host device 135 to interact and operate asdescribed. The client controller 125 and the host controller 140 may beembodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine, component,physical or virtual equipment, storage medium, or propagated signalcapable of providing instructions to the client device 120 or the hostdevice 135.

The communications link 115 typically includes a delivery network 160making a direct or indirect communication between the client system 105and the host system 110, irrespective of physical separation. Examplesof a delivery network 160 include the Internet, the World Wide Web,WANs, LANs, analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks(e.g. PSTN, ISDN, and xDSL), radio, television, cable, satellite, and/orany other delivery mechanism for carrying data. The communications link115 may include communication pathways 150 and 155 that enablecommunications through the one or more delivery networks 160 describedabove. Each of the communication pathways 150 and 155 may include, forexample, a wired, wireless, cable or satellite communication pathway.

FIG. 2 illustrates a communications system 200 including a client system205 communicating with a host system 210 through a communications link215. Client system 205 typically includes one or more client devices 220and one or more client controllers 225 for controlling the clientdevices 220. Host system 210 typically includes one or more host devices235 and one or more host controllers 240 for controlling the hostdevices 235. The communications link 215 may include communicationpathways 250 and 255 that enable communications through the one or moredelivery networks 260.

Examples of each element within the communications system of FIG. 2 arebroadly described above with respect to FIG. 1. In particular, the hostsystem 210 and the communications link 215 typically have attributescomparable to those described with respect to host system 110 andcommunications link 115 of FIG. 1. Likewise, the client system 205 ofFIG. 2 typically has attributes comparable to and illustrates onepossible implementation of the client system 105 of FIG. 1.

The client device 220 typically includes a general-purpose computer 270having an internal or external storage 272 for storing data and programssuch as an operating system 274 (e.g., DOS, Windows™, Windows 95™,Windows 98™, Windows 2000™, Windows Mc™, Windows XP™, Windows NT™, OS/2,or Linux) and one or more application programs.

Examples of application programs include authoring applications 276(e.g., word processing programs, database programs, spreadsheetprograms, or graphics programs) capable of generating documents or otherelectronic content; client applications 278 (e.g., AOL client,CompuServe client, AIM client, AOL TV client, or ISP client) capable ofcommunicating with other computer users, accessing various computerresources, and viewing, creating, or otherwise manipulating electroniccontent; and browser applications 280 (e.g., Netscape's Navigator orMicrosoft's Internet Explorer) capable of rendering standard Internetcontent.

The general-purpose computer 270 also includes a central processing unit282 (CPU) for executing instructions in response to commands from theclient controller 225. In one implementation, the client controller 225includes one or more of the application programs installed on theinternal or external storage 272 of the general-purpose computer 270. Inanother implementation, the client controller 225 includes applicationprograms externally stored in and performed by one or more device(s)external to the general-purpose computer 270.

The general-purpose computer typically will include a communicationdevice 284 for sending and receiving data. One example of thecommunication device 284 is a modem. Other examples include atransceiver, a set-top box, a communication card, a satellite dish, anantenna, or another network adapter capable of transmitting andreceiving data over the communications link 215 through a wired orwireless data pathway 250. The general-purpose computer 270 also mayinclude a TV (“television”) tuner 286 for receiving televisionprogramming in the form of broadcast, satellite, and/or cable TVsignals. As a result, the client device 220 can selectively and/orsimultaneously display network content received by communications device284 and television programming content received by the TV tuner 286.

The general-purpose computer 270 typically will include an input/outputinterface 288 for wired or wireless connection to various peripheraldevices 290. Examples of peripheral devices 290 include, but are notlimited to, a mouse 291, a mobile phone 292, a personal digitalassistant 293 (PDA), a MP3 player (not shown), a keyboard 294, a displaymonitor 295 with or without a touch screen input, a TV remote control296 for receiving information from and rendering information tosubscribers, and an audiovisual input device 298.

Although devices such as a mobile telephone 292, a PDA 293, a MP3 player(not shown), and a TV remote control 296 may be peripheral with respectto the general-purpose computer 270, in another implementation, suchdevices may themselves include the functionality of the general-purposecomputer 270 and operate as the client device 220. For example, themobile phone 292 or the PDA 293 may include computing and networkingcapabilities and function as a client device 220 by accessing thedelivery network 260 and communicating with the host system 210.Furthermore, the client system 205 may include one, some or all of thecomponents and devices described above.

Referring to FIG. 3, a communications system 300 is capable ofdelivering and exchanging information between a client system 305 and ahost system 310 through a communication link 315. Client system 305typically includes one or more client devices 320 and one or more clientcontrollers 325 for controlling the client devices 320. Host system 310typically includes one or more host devices 335 and one or more hostcontrollers 340 for controlling the host devices 335. The communicationslink 315 may include communication pathways 350 and 355 that enablecommunications through the one or more delivery networks 360.

Examples of each element within the communications system of FIG. 3 arebroadly described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. In particular,the client system 305 and the communications link 315 typically haveattributes comparable to those described with respect to client systems105 and 205 and communications links 115 and 215 of FIGS. 1 and 2.Likewise, the host system 310 of FIG. 3 may have attributes comparableto and illustrates one possible implementation of the host systems 110and 210 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The host system 310 includes a host device 335 and a host controller340. The host controller 340 is generally capable of transmittinginstructions to any or all of the elements of the host device 335. Forexample, in one implementation, the host controller 340 includes one ormore software applications loaded on the host device 335. In otherimplementations, as described above, the host controller 340 may includeany of several other programs, machines, and devices operatingindependently or collectively to control the host device 335.

The host device 335 includes a login server 370 for enabling access bysubscribers and for routing communications between the client system 305and other elements of the host device 335. The host device 335 alsoincludes various host complexes such as the depicted OSP (“OnlineService Provider”) host complex 380 and IM (“Instant Messaging”) hostcomplex 390. To enable access to these host complexes by subscribers,the client system 305 includes communication software, for example, anOSP client application and an IM client application. The OSP and IMcommunication software applications are designed to facilitate thesubscriber's interactions with the respective services and, inparticular, may provide access to all the services available within therespective host complexes.

Typically, the OSP host complex 380 supports different services, such ase-mail, discussion groups, chat, news services, and Internet access. TheOSP host complex 380 is generally designed with an architecture thatenables the machines within the OSP host complex 380 to communicate witheach other and employs certain protocols (i.e., standards, formats,conventions, rules, and structures) to transfer data. The OSP hostcomplex 380 ordinarily employs one or more OSP protocols and customdialing engines to enable access by selected client applications. TheOSP host complex 380 may define one or more specific protocols for eachservice based on a common, underlying proprietary protocol.

The IM host complex 390 is generally independent of the OSP host complex380, and supports instant messaging services irrespective of asubscriber's network or Internet access. Thus, the IM host complex 390allows subscribers to send and receive instant messages, whether or notthey have access to any particular ISP. The IM host complex 390 maysupport associated services, such as administrative matters,advertising, directory services, chat, and interest groups related tothe instant messaging. The IM host complex 390 has an architecture thatenables all of the machines within the IM host complex to communicatewith each other. To transfer data, the IM host complex 390 employs oneor more standard or exclusive IM protocols.

The host device 335 may include one or more gateways that connect andtherefore link complexes, such as the OSP host complex gateway 385 andthe IM host complex gateway 395. The OSP host complex gateway 385 andthe IM host complex gateway 395 may directly or indirectly link the OSPhost complex 380 with the IM host complex 390 through a wired orwireless pathway. Ordinarily, when used to facilitate a link betweencomplexes, the OSP host complex gateway 385 and the IM host complexgateway 395 are privy to information regarding the protocol typeanticipated by a destination complex, which enables any necessaryprotocol conversion to be performed incident to the transfer of datafrom one complex to another. For instance, the OSP host complex 380 andIM host complex 390 generally use different protocols such thattransferring data between the complexes requires protocol conversion byor at the request of the OSP host complex gateway 385 and/or the IM hostcomplex gateway 395.

Referring to FIG. 4, a communications system 400 is capable ofdelivering and exchanging information between a client system 405 and ahost system 410 through a communication link 415. Client system 405typically includes one or more client devices 420 and one or more clientcontrollers 425 for controlling the client devices 420. Host system 410typically includes one or more host devices 435 and one or more hostcontrollers 440 for controlling the host devices 435. The communicationslink 415 may include communication pathways 450 and 455 that enablecommunications through the one or more delivery networks 460. As shown,the client system 405 may access the Internet 465 through the hostsystem 410.

Examples of each element within the communications system of FIG. 4 arebroadly described above with respect to FIGS. 1-3. In particular, theclient system 405 and the communications link 415 typically haveattributes comparable to those described with respect to client systems105, 205, and 305 and communications links 115, 215, and 315 of FIGS.1-3. Likewise, the host system 410 of FIG. 4 may have attributescomparable to and illustrates one possible implementation of the hostsystems 110, 210, and 310 shown in FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 4 describes an aspectof the host system 410, focusing primarily on one particularimplementation of OSP host complex 480.

The client system 405 includes a client device 420 and a clientcontroller 425. The client controller 425 is generally capable ofestablishing a connection to the host system 410, including the OSP hostcomplex 480, the IM host complex 490 and/or the Internet 465. In oneimplementation, the client controller 425 includes an OSP applicationfor communicating with servers in the OSP host complex 480 usingexclusive OSP protocols. The client controller 425 also may includeapplications, such as an IM client application, and/or an Internetbrowser application, for communicating with the IM host complex 490 andthe Internet 465.

The host system 410 includes a host device 435 and a host controller440. The host controller 440 is generally capable of transmittinginstructions to any or all of the elements of the host device 435. Forexample, in one implementation, the host controller 440 includes one ormore software applications loaded on one or more elements of the hostdevice 435. In other implementations, as described above, the hostcontroller 440 may include any of several other programs, machines, anddevices operating independently or collectively to control the hostdevice 435.

The host system 410 includes a login server 470 capable of enablingcommunications with and authorizing access by client systems 405 tovarious elements of the host system 410, including an OSP host complex480 and an IM host complex 490. The login server 470 may implement oneor more authorization procedures to enable simultaneous access to theOSP host complex 480 and the IM host complex 490. The OSP host complex480 and the IM host complex 490 are connected through one or more OSPhost complex gateways 485 and one or more IM host complex gateways 495.Each OSP host complex gateway 485 and IM host complex gateway 495 mayperform any protocol conversions necessary to enable communicationsbetween the OSP host complex 480, the IM host complex 490, and theInternet 465.

The OSP host complex 480 supports a set of services from one or moreservers located internal to and external from the OSP host complex 480.Servers external to the OSP host complex 480 generally may be viewed asexisting on the Internet 465. Servers internal to the OSP complex 480may be arranged in one or more configurations. For example, servers maybe arranged in centralized or localized clusters in order to distributeservers and subscribers within the OSP host complex 480.

In one implementation of FIG. 4, the OSP host complex 480 includes arouting processor 4802. In general, the routing processor 4802 willexamine an address field of a data request, use a mapping table todetermine the appropriate destination for the data request, and directthe data request to the appropriate destination. In a packet-basedimplementation, the client system 405 may generate information requests,convert the requests into data packets, sequence the data packets,perform error checking and other packet-switching techniques, andtransmit the data packets to the routing processor 4802. Upon receivingdata packets from the client system 405, the routing processor 4802 maydirectly or indirectly route the data packets to a specified destinationwithin or outside of the OSP host complex 480. For example, in the eventthat a data request from the client system 405 can be satisfied locally,the routing processor 4802 may direct the data request to a local server4804. In the event that the data request cannot be satisfied locally,the routing processor 4802 may direct the data request externally to theInternet 465 or the IM host complex 490 through the gateway 485.

The OSP host complex 480 also includes a proxy server 4806 for directingdata requests and/or otherwise facilitating communication between theclient system 405 and the Internet 465. The proxy server 4806 mayinclude an IP (“Internet Protocol”) tunnel for converting data from OSPprotocol into standard Internet protocol and transmitting the data tothe Internet 465. The IP tunnel also converts data received from theInternet 465 in the standard Internet protocol back into the OSPprotocol and sends the converted data to the routing processor 4802 fordelivery back to the client system 405.

The proxy server 4806 also may allow the client system 405 to usestandard Internet protocols and formatting to access the OSP hostcomplex 480 and the Internet 465. For example, the subscriber may use anOSP TV client application having an embedded browser applicationinstalled on the client system 405 to generate a request in standardInternet protocol, such as HTTP (“HyperText Transport Protocol”). In apacket-based implementation, data packets may be encapsulated inside astandard Internet tunneling protocol, such as, for example, UDP (“UserDatagram Protocol”) and routed to the proxy server 4806. The proxyserver 4806 may include an L2TP (“Layer Two Tunneling Protocol”) tunnelcapable of establishing a point-to-point protocol (PPP) session with theclient system 405.

The proxy server 4806 also may act as a buffer between the client system405 and the Internet 465, and may implement content filtering and timesaving techniques. For example, the proxy server 4806 can check parentalcontrols settings of the client system 405 and request and transmitcontent from the Internet 465 according to the parental controlsettings. In addition, the proxy server 4806 may include one or morecaches for storing frequently accessed information. If requested data isdetermined to be stored in the caches, the proxy server 4806 may sendthe information to the client system 405 from the caches and avoid theneed to access the Internet 465.

Referring to FIG. 5, a communications system 500 is capable ofdelivering and exchanging information between a client system 505 and ahost system 510 through a communication link 515, Client system 505typically includes one or more client devices 520 and one or more clientcontrollers 525 for controlling the client devices 520. Host system 510typically includes one or more host devices 535 and one or more hostcontrollers 540 for controlling the host devices 535. The communicationslink 515 may include communication pathways 550 and 555 that enablecommunications through the one or more delivery networks 560. As shown,the client system 505 may access the Internet 565 through the hostsystem 510.

Examples of each element within the communications system of FIG. 5 arebroadly described above with respect to FIGS. 1-4. In particular, theclient system 505 and the communications link 515 typically haveattributes comparable to those described with respect to client systems105, 205, 305, and 405 and communications links 115, 215, 315, and 415of FIGS. 1-4. Likewise, the host system 510 of FIG. 5 may haveattributes comparable to and illustrates one possible implementation ofthe host systems 110, 210, 310, and 410 shown in FIGS. 1-4. FIG. 5describes an aspect of the host system 510, focusing primarily on oneparticular implementation of IM host complex 590.

The client system 505 includes a client device 520 and a clientcontroller 525. The client controller 525 is generally capable ofestablishing a connection to the host system 510, including the OSP hostcomplex 580, the IM host complex 590 and/or the Internet 565. In oneimplementation, the client controller 525 includes an IM application forcommunicating with servers in the IM host complex 590 utilizingexclusive IM protocols. The client controller 525 also may includeapplications, such as an OSP client application, and/or an Internetbrowser application for communicating with the OSP host complex 580 andthe Internet 565, respectively.

The host system 510 includes a host device 535 and a host controller540. The host controller 540 is generally capable of transmittinginstructions to any or all of the elements of the host device 535. Forexample, in one implementation, the host controller 540 includes one ormore software applications loaded on one or more elements of the hostdevice 535. However, in other implementations, as described above, thehost controller 540 may include any of several other programs, machines,and devices operating independently or collectively to control the hostdevice 535.

The host system 510 includes a login server 570 capable of enablingcommunications with and authorizing access by client systems 505 tovarious elements of the host system 510, including an OSP host complex580 and an IM host complex 590. The login server 570 may implement oneor more authorization procedures to enable simultaneous access to theOSP host complex 580 and the IM host complex 590. The OSP host complex580 and the IM host complex 590 are connected through one or more OSPhost complex gateways 585 and one or more IM host complex gateways 595.Each OSP host complex gateway 585 and IM host complex gateway 595 mayperform any protocol conversions necessary to enable communicationbetween the OSP host complex 580, the IM host complex 590, and theInternet 565.

To access the IM host complex 590 to begin an instant messaging session,the client system 505 establishes a connection to the login server 570.The login server 570 typically determines whether the particularsubscriber is authorized to access the IM host complex 590 by verifyinga subscriber identification and password. If the subscriber isauthorized to access the IM host complex 590, the login server 570employs a hashing technique on the subscriber's screen name to identifya particular IM server 5902 for use during the subscriber's session. Thelogin server 570 provides the client system 505 with the IP address ofthe particular IM server 5902, gives the client system 505 an encryptedkey (i.e., a cookie), and breaks the connection. The client system 505then uses the IP address to establish a connection to the particular IMserver 5902 through the communications link 515, and obtains access tothat IM server 5902 using the encrypted key. Typically, the clientsystem 505 will be equipped with a Winsock API (“Application ProgrammingInterface”) that enables the client system 505 to establish an open TCPconnection to the IM server 5902.

Once a connection to the IM server 5902 has been established, the clientsystem 505 may directly or indirectly transmit data to and accesscontent from the IM server 5902 and one or more associated domainservers 5904. The IM server 5902 supports the fundamental instantmessaging services and the domain servers 5904 may support associatedservices, such as, for example, administrative matters, directoryservices, chat and interest groups. In general, the purpose of thedomain servers 5904 is to lighten the load placed on the IM server 5902by assuming responsibility for some of the services within the IM hostcomplex 590. By accessing the IM server 5902 and/or the domain server5904, a subscriber can use the IM client application to view whetherparticular subscribers (“buddies”) are online, exchange instant messageswith particular subscribers, participate in group chat rooms, tradefiles such as pictures, invitations or documents, find other subscriberswith similar interests, get customized news and stock quotes, and searchthe World Wide Web.

In the implementation of FIG. 5, the IM server 5902 is directly orindirectly connected to a routing gateway 5906. The routing gateway 5906facilitates the connection between the IM server 5902 and one or morealert multiplexors 5908, for example, by serving as a link minimizationtool or hub to connect several IM servers 5902 to several alertmultiplexors 5908. In general, an alert multiplexor 5908 maintains arecord of alerts and subscribers registered to receive the alerts.

Once the client system 505 is connected to the alert multiplexor 5908, asubscriber can register for and/or receive one or more types of alerts.The connection pathway between the client system 505 and the alertmultiplexor 5908 is determined by employing another hashing technique atthe IM server 5902 to identify the particular alert multiplexor 5908 tobe used for the subscriber's session. Once the particular multiplexor5908 has been identified, the IM server 5902 provides the client system505 with the IP address of the particular alert multiplexor 5908 andgives the client system 505 an encrypted key (i.e., a cookie). Theclient system 505 then uses the IP address to connect to the particularalert multiplexor 5908 through the communication link 515 and obtainsaccess to the alert multiplexor 5908 using the encrypted key.

The alert multiplexor 5908 is connected to an alert gate 5910 that, likethe IM host complex gateway 595, is capable of performing the necessaryprotocol conversions to form a bridge to the OSP host complex 580. Thealert gate 5910 is the interface between the IM host complex 590 and thephysical servers, such as servers in the OSP host complex 580, wherestate changes are occurring. In general, the information regarding statechanges will be gathered and used by the IM host complex 590. However,the alert multiplexor 5908 also may communicate with the OSP hostcomplex 580 through the IM host complex gateway 595, for example, toprovide the servers and subscribers of the OSP host complex 580 withcertain information gathered from the alert gate 5910.

The alert gate 5910 can detect an alert feed corresponding to aparticular type of alert. The alert gate 5910 may include a piece ofcode (alert receive code) capable of interacting with another piece ofcode (alert broadcast code) on the physical server where a state changeoccurs. In general, the alert receive code installed on the alert gate5910 instructs the alert broadcast code installed on the physical serverto send an alert feed to the alert gate 5910 upon the occurrence of aparticular state change. Upon detecting an alert feed, the alert gate5910 contacts the alert multiplexor 5908, which in turn, informs theclient system 505 of the detected alert feed.

In the implementation of FIG. 5, the IM host complex 590 also includes asubscriber profile server 5912 connected to a database 5914 for storinglarge amounts of subscriber profile data. The subscriber profile server5912 may be used to enter, retrieve, edit, manipulate, or otherwiseprocess subscriber profile data. In one implementation, a subscriber'sprofile data includes, for example, the subscriber's buddy list, alertpreferences, designated stocks, identified interests, and geographiclocation. The subscriber may enter, edit and/or delete profile datausing an installed IM client application on the client system 505 tointeract with the subscriber profile server 5912.

Because the subscriber's data is stored in the IM host complex 590, thesubscriber does not have to reenter or update such information in theevent that the subscriber accesses the IM host complex 590 using a newor a different client system 505. Accordingly, when a subscriberaccesses the IM host complex 590, the IM server 5902 can instruct thesubscriber profile server 5912 to retrieve the subscriber's profile datafrom the database 5914 and to provide, for example, the subscriber'sbuddy list to the IM server 5902 and the subscriber's alert preferencesto the alert multiplexor 5908. The subscriber profile server 5912 alsomay communicate with other servers in the OSP host complex 580 to sharesubscriber profile data with other services. Alternatively, user profiledata may be saved locally on the client device 505.

Referring to FIG. 6, a communications system 600 is capable ofdelivering and exchanging information between a client system 605 and ahost system 610 through a communication link 615. Client system 605typically includes one or more client devices 620 and one or more clientcontrollers 625 for controlling the client devices 620. Host system 610typically includes one or more host devices 635 and one or more hostcontrollers 640 for controlling the host devices 635. The communicationlink 615 may include communication pathways 650 and 655 that enablecommunications through the one or more delivery networks 660. Thenetwork 660 may be any known or described delivery network including,but not limited, to a telephone network and/or the Internet, Examples ofeach element within the communication system of FIG. 6 are broadlydescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1-5. In particular, the clientsystem 605 and the communications link 615 typically have attributescomparable to those described with respect to client systems 105, 205,305, 405, and 505 and communications links 115, 215, 315, 415, and 515of FIGS. 1-5. Likewise, the host system 610 of FIG. 6 may haveattributes comparable to and illustrates one possible implementation ofthe host systems 110, 210, 310, 410, and 510 shown in FIGS. 1-5,respectively. However, FIG. 6 describes an aspect of the host system610, focusing primarily on one particular implementation of the hostdevice 635.

The client system 605 includes a client device 620 and a clientcontroller 625. The client controller 625 is generally capable ofestablishing a connection to the host system 610 through the deliverynetwork 615. In one implementation, the client controller 625 includesone or more applications, such as an IM application, an OSP application,and/or an Internet browser application.

The host system 610 includes a host device 635 and a host controller640. The host controller 640 is generally capable of transmittinginstructions to any or all of the elements of the host device 635. Forexample, in one implementation, the host controller 640 includes one ormore software applications loaded on one or more elements of the hostdevice 635. However, in other implementations, as described above, thehost controller 640 may include any of several other programs, machines,and devices operating independently or collectively to control the hostdevice 635. The host device 635 includes a mail gateway 6350 having asend mail server 6352 and a read mail server 6354. The send mail server6352 is configured to perform functions relating to transmittingelectronic data. The read mail server 6354 is configured to performfunctions relating to receiving and accessing electronic data. The mailgateway 6350 is in communication with one or more processing servers6360.

The mail gateway 6350 also is in communication with the storage area6370 and a tandem database 6380. The storage area 6370 includeselectronic content databases 6372, 6374 and attachment database 6376.The tandem database 6380 includes a system of folders that storeelectronic data for subscribers of the host system 610.

The host device 635 also includes an identification (“ID”) host complex6390. The ID host complex 6390 includes a configuration server 6392 incommunication with the client system 605, the read mail server 6352, alook-up server 6394, and an IM server 6396. The IM server 6396 typicallyhas attributes comparable to some or all elements of IM host complexes390, 490, 590, and 690. In general, the IM server 6396 is capable ofsupporting instant messaging services including the identification ofwhether a particular individual is available for IM messaging, thelook-up server 6394 is capable of finding subscriber account information(e.g., screen name) from a given e-mail address, and the configurationserver 6392 is capable of configuring communication schemes between theintended recipient of an e-mail message and the sender and/or otherrecipients of the e-mail message. The configuration server 6392 mayinclude an electronic data store (e.g., a cache) that may be used, forexample, to cache attributes of electronic data communicated using thehost 610. The cache of attributes of electronic data may be associatedwith a previously encountered message (e.g., a cache entry may indicatethat a message stored in the cache with ID=514 references individuals x,y, z) to avoid the need to analyze the message each time it isencountered.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a sender 702 and a host 704 interactaccording to a procedure 700 to transmit electronic data. The procedure700 may be implemented by any type of hardware, software, device,computer, computer system, equipment, component, program, application,code, storage medium, or propagated signal.

Examples of each element of FIGS. 7 and 8 are broadly described abovewith respect to FIGS. 1-6. In particular, the sender 702 typically hasattributes comparable to those described with respect to client devices120, 220, 320, 420, 520, and 620 and/or client controllers 125, 225,325, 425, 525, and 625. The host 704 typically has attributes comparableto those described above with respect to host devices 135, 235, 335,435, 535, and 635 and/or host controllers 140, 240, 340, 440, 540, and640. The sender 702 and/or the host 704 may be directly or indirectlyinterconnected through a known or described delivery network.

Initially, the sender 702 transmits electronic data to the host 704(step 705). In one implementation, the sender 702 is a client system 605associated with an end user of the communication system 600. In anotherimplementation, the sender 702 aids the client system 605 intransmitting electronic data through a communications link 615 to thehost system 610. In yet another implementation, the sender 702 is aprocessing server 6360 within the host system 610. For example, theprocessing server 6360 may be a web mail server arranged to store andforward electronic data transmitted between end users of thecommunication system 600.

The host 704 receives the electronic data from the sender 702 (step710). In one implementation, the host 704 includes a mail gateway suchas mail gateway 6350 of FIG. 6. In this implementation, the mail gateway6350 generally receives the electronic data from the client system 605and/or the processing server 6360. Typically, the mail gateway 6350 willreceive electronic content from subscribers through a dial-up telephonenetwork or DSL (digital subscriber line) and will receive electroniccontent from non-subscribers indirectly through the Internet. The mailgateway 6350 may perform protocol conversions if necessary to receiveelectronic content from non-subscribers.

After receiving the electronic data from the sender 702 (step 710), thehost 704 determines one or more attributes of the electronic data (step715). Attributes of the electronic data may include, but are not limitedto, an identification token, the author of the electronic data, therecipient(s) of the electronic data, the subject of the electronic data,the date and time of the transmission, and/or whether the electronicdata contains attachments or embedded images. The host 704 typicallywill store the contents and attributes of the electronic data. Forexample, in one implementation of the structure shown by FIG. 6,contents of the electronic data are stored in the storage area 6370 andthe attributes of the electronic data are cached locally in theconfiguration server 6392 and also stored in the tandem database 6380.The body of the electronic data is stored in electronic contentdatabases 6372, 6374 and any attachments are stored in the attachmentdatabase 6376. In this example, the body of the electronic data isstored twice to assure its availability. Due to the typically largesizes of attachments, however, such objects are only stored once toconserve memory space. The tandem database 6380 includes a system ofactual or virtual folders corresponding to the subscribers of the hostsystem 610. Each folder may have properties assigned by the subscriberincluding, for example, properties for filtering electronic content fromcertain sources. When electronic data are received, the folder storesthe attributes of the electronic data including the location(s) of theelectronic data content (i.e., body and attachments) in the storage area6370.

The host 704 then provides supplemental contact information for areferenced individual (step 720). The supplemental contact informationfor the referenced individual may be provided to the sender of theelectronic data, the recipients of the electronic data, and otherindividuals referenced in the electronic data. In one implementation,the host 704 uses the supplemental contact information to configure acommunication scheme between the recipient and the referencedindividual.

In one implementation, the supplemental contact information may includereal time contact information. Real time contact information includesinformation that reflects the current availability of the user tocommunicate through one or more communication schemes. For example, thereal time contact information may include a referenced individual'scurrent online status to communicate using instant messaging or areferenced individual's current availability to communicate using phonecommunications.

Additionally or alternatively, real time contact information may includeinformation that reflects contact information provided by the referencedindividual for display to others seeking their availability when viewingelectronic messages that identify the individual.

FIG. 8 illustrates one implementation of a process 720 for providingsupplemental contact information for a referenced individual. Initially,the configuration server 6392 detects a token or other informationcapable of identifying incoming electronic data (e.g., an e-mail messageor an instant message) (step 805). The identification token may beintercepted by the configuration server 6392 and/or presented to theconfiguration server 6392 by the client system 605, the processingserver 6360, and/or the read mail server 6354 (communication path notshown by FIG. 6). Referencing the token, the configuration server 6392accesses a cache (step 810) and determines whether attributes of theelectronic data are stored locally (step 815). Such attributes mayinclude, but are not limited to, a listing of referenced individualsassociated with the electronic data. The listing of referencedindividuals may include the sender and all recipients associated withthe electronic data identified from addressing information. The listingof referenced individuals also may include names detected in the body ofan electronic communication. For example, the listing of referencedindividuals associated with an e-mail message may include the sender ofthe e-mail message, all recipients of the e-mail message, and any namesof individuals detected in the body of the e-mail message.

If attributes of the electronic data are stored locally, theconfiguration server 6392 retrieves the attributes from the local cache(step 820). If, on the other hand, attributes of the electronic data arenot stored locally, the configuration server 6392 determines theattributes of the electronic data (step 825) and then supplements thelocal cache with those attributes (step 830). The configuration server6392 may determine the attributes of the electronic data itself and/ormay access another server to determine the attributes. In oneimplementation, the configuration server 6392 accesses the read mailserver 6354. The read mail server 6354 then determines attributes of theelectronic data. Determining attributes of the electronic data mayinclude detecting referenced individuals associated with the electronicdata by examining addressing information and the content of theelectronic data. The read mail server 6354 then presents the attributesto the configuration server 6392. The configuration server 6392 receivesthe listing from the read mail server 6354 and stores the listing in thelocal cache.

The configuration server 6392 sends the listing of referencedindividuals to the look-up server 6394, which can be used to determinethe real time messaging capability of each referenced individual (step835). In one implementation, the look-up server 6394 determines whethersupplemental contact information is associated with any or allreferenced individuals.

The supplemental contact information may include e-mail addresses, IMscreen names, telephone numbers, and/or mailing addresses associatedwith the referenced individual. However, the referenced individuals mayor may not be subscribers of the communication system 600. For instance,in one implementation, the listing includes e-mail addresses ofsubscribers and non-subscribers. Thus, to facilitate a determination ofreal time messaging capabilities, the configuration server 6392 maystrip the domain (e.g., @aol.com) from the e-mail address of asubscriber with a recognized domain to obtain the subscriber's screenname and facilitate a reverse look-up process. In anotherimplementation, the listing includes names detected in the content of anelectronic message (e.g., an e-mail message or an instant message) ore-mail addresses otherwise recognizable to the configuration server6392.

In general, the supplemental contact information will be provided by thereferenced individuals themselves and will be maintained by the hostsystem 610. For example, a subscriber may provide contact informationwhen establishing an account with the host system 610. A subscriber alsomay provide contact information transparently by connecting to hostsystem 610 and allowing the host system 610 to monitor the subscriber'sonline presence.

In one implementation, the host system 610 maintains a global electronicaddress book containing supplemental contact information associated withsubscribers. Each subscriber may control what type of contactinformation is provided and to whom such contact information is madeavailable. In addition, each subscriber may place conditions on whencertain contact information is made available. For instance, asubscriber may make certain contact information available only atspecified times.

In one example, a subscriber may make supplemental contact informationavailable only to family members. In this example, the subscriber mayhave minimal privacy concerns and therefore may allow family membersaccess to supplemental contact information including home and worke-mail addresses, IM screen names, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers,and mailing addresses. In addition, the subscriber may provide contactinformation for a person to contact in emergency cases when thesubscriber is unavailable.

In another example, the subscriber may make supplemental contactinformation available to fellow employees during working hours. In thisexample, the subscriber may allow fellow employees access tosupplemental contact information including a work e-mail address, IMscreen name, telephone number, facsimile number, and mailing address. Inaddition, the subscriber may provide contact information for anassistant or supervisor that people should contact in urgent cases whenthe subscriber is unavailable. In another example for a workingenvironment, the supplemental contact information may include an officelayout (i.e., a map) so that a remote manager may be able to reach anunresponsive employee by sending a message to an employee located inclose proximity to the unresponsive employee.

In yet another example, the subscriber may set preferences to enable thesupplemental contact information to be provided to designated persons.For example, the subscriber may designate which group or groups ofpersons may receive the supplemental contact information, such as,senders of electronic messages, other recipient of electronic messages,and/or other individuals referenced. The subscriber may designatespecific individuals to received the supplemental contact information.Additionally and/or alternatively, the subscriber may designate specificindividuals who should be blocked from receiving the supplementalcontact information.

A subscriber may set preferences that control the presentation ofsupplemental contact information by the host system 610. For example,the subscriber may allow the host system 610 to examine some or all ofthe content of electronic messages sent to or by the subscriber. In oneimplementation, the host system 610 may examine the content of anelectronic message (e.g., an e-mail message or an instant message)authored by the subscriber or delivered to the subscriber, detect namesof referenced individuals included in the electronic message, andprovide supplemental contact information for each referenced individual,if available.

In addition, the host system 610 may update a personal address bookassociated with the subscriber. For example, the host system 610 may askthe subscriber if a referenced individual should be included in asubscriber's personal address book and/or may ask the subscriber if anexisting entry for a referenced individual in the subscriber's personaladdress book should be updated with the supplemental contactinformation. Upon receiving an affirmative response from the subscriber,the host system 610 may populate and/or update the subscriber's personaladdress book. The subscriber's personal address book may be maintainedon the host system 610 and/or on the subscriber's client system 605.

In some cases, a subscriber may allow the host system 610 to facilitatethe acquisition of supplemental contact information. Typically, asubscriber will set preferences that control the amount of interventionby the host system 610. In one implementation, a subscriber may allowthe host system 610 to automatically update a global electronic addressbook containing supplemental contact information associated with thesubscriber. That is, the host system 610 may be permitted toautomatically update a subscriber's contact information in the globalelectronic address book as new contact information for the subscriberbecomes available. For example, contact information may be automaticallyadded or updated whenever a subscriber creates and/or changes an e-mailaddress, screen name, telephone number, facsimile number, and/or mailingaddress. As such, the most current contact information associated withthe subscriber may be made available to other subscribers.

In one implementation, the configuration server 6392 interacts with theIM server 6396 to make known whether referenced individuals areavailable for instant messaging communication, and to enable suchcommunications. For example, the configuration server 6392 may requestthe IM server 6396 to identify the IM state (e.g., online, offline,away, busy, not a member) of each referenced individual. As describedabove, the IM server 6396 may be a network of interconnected serverscapable of determining the status or online presence of subscribers. Theonline presence of the referenced individual can be detected, forexample, from a persistent connection to an IM server and/or theactivity of a specific control port.

In response to the request, the IM server 6396 identifies the IM stateof the referenced individual to the configuration server 6392. In oneimplementation, the IM state is given by whether the referencedindividual is online, offline, or does not have instant messagingcapability. The configuration server 6392 may instruct the IM server6396 to send an invitation to referenced individuals without instantmessaging capability. The invitation may invite the referencedindividual to subscribe to the IM host complex 6390 and/or the hostsystem 610. For referenced individuals having instant messagingcapability, the IM server 6396 reports whether each referencedindividual is online or offline.

Once the look-up server 6394 has determined the supplemental contactinformation for the referenced individuals, the look-up server 6394reports the real time messaging capabilities of each referencedindividual to the configuration server 6392 (step 840). In oneimplementation, the look-up server 6394 identifies the capability ofeach referenced individual to communicate by e-mail, instant messaging,telephone, facsimile, and regular mail, for example, by using icons nearreferences to the individual's name/reference within the electroniccontent, or by changing the font of the individual's name/reference. Thelook-up server 6394 also may provide supplemental contact information(e.g., screen name, e-mail address, telephone number, facsimile number,mailing address) to the configuration server 6392. Based on the reportedcapabilities of the references individuals, the configuration server6392 facilitates real time communication with each referencedindividual.

In one implementation, when the look-up server 6394 reports the realtime messaging capabilities of each referenced individual to theconfiguration server 6392, the configuration server 6392 may present aparticular instant messaging user interface (“UI”). For example, theconfiguration server 6392 may cause a user's existing buddy list windowto be updated with the screen names of referenced individuals capable ofparticipating in an IM session. Additionally or alternatively, a newbuddy list window may be created and updated with referenced individualscapable of participating in an IM session. In the example of FIG. 9, theUI 900 includes a buddy list window. The screen names of referencedindividuals who are able to receive instant messages will appear in thebuddy list window in a new group called Mail Contacts. A user may sendan instant message to a person in the Mail Contacts list by clickingthat person's screen name. Thus, when an individual referenced inelectronic content (e.g., in an e-mail) is determined to have IMcapabilities, a buddy list window may be presented with a screen name ofthe referenced individual.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of how the IM state of each of thesender and the recipients may be represented. An icon may indicate thatthe referenced individual has IM capability. The icon may be presentedupon opening an e-mail message, for example, in response to one or moreredirection commands associated with the IM state of the referencedindividual. The redirection command may include a URL for navigating abrowser to a particular URL associated with a graphical user interfaceand/or icon corresponding to one of the IM states. By clicking on the IMicon, a subscriber may launch an instant message.

Where an icon does not appear next to a referenced individual, thereferenced individual does not presently have IM capability, andselection of the subscriber reference (e.g., screen name) may elicit alist of other contact information. Thus, even if a referenced individualdoes not have IM capability, a subscriber still may be able tocommunicate with the referenced individual through an alternatecommunication scheme. For example, the configuration server 6392 mayreceive an e-mail address for a referenced individual with e-mailcapability. In one implementation, the configuration server 6392displays an e-mail address of a referenced individual. By clicking thee-mail address, the subscriber may launch an e-mail message to thereferenced individual, or the user may be presented with other forms ofcontact information such as the telephone number of the individual.

It should be noted that the e-mail address is displayed according to thesupplemental contact information. As such, the displayed e-mail addressis not necessarily the e-mail address included in theoriginally-transmitted message. For example, if a referenced individualhas indicated a preferred e-mail address, the preferred e-mail addresswill displace another e-mail address. To illustrate with reference toFIG. 10, assume that a referenced individual (Sally Smith) has indicatedthat a work e-mail address (sallysmith@straitsight.com) is to beprovided as supplemental contact information during working hours andthat a home e-mail address (sallysmith@aol.com) is to be provided assupplemental contact information during all other times. Even if asender (Chris Barker) sends the e-mail message using the home e-mailaddress (sallysmith@aol.com), the work e-mail address(sallysmith@straitsight.com) may be displayed when the e-mail message isopened during working hours.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate another example of how the supplementalcontact information for referenced individuals may be presented. Forexample, in FIG. 11A, e-mail 1100 includes two referenced individuals inthe body of the e-mail 1100 (i.e., John Doe 1105 and Tim Smith 1110). Asthe cursor 1115 is moved over the referenced individuals 1105 and 1110,a window (e.g., a pop-up window) may be displayed for each referencedindividual listing the individual's supplemental contact information.For instance, as cursor 1115 is moved over John Doe 1105, pop-up window1120 displays John Doe's supplemental contact information.

The supplemental contact information displayed in the pop-up window 1120may depend on the date and/or time at which the e-mail is being viewed.In this case, the date-time stamp 1125 a on e-mail 1100 indicates thatthe e-mail 1100 is being viewed on “04/24/2002 11:26 AM” 1125 a. Basedon the date and the time 1125 a that the e-mail 1100 is being viewed,the supplemental contact information for John Doe indicates that theaddress “JDOE@AOL.COM” 1130 a should be used to reach John Doe bye-mail.

In FIG. 11B, when the same e-mail 1100 is viewed at a different time1125 b, the pop-up window 1120 displays different supplemental contactinformation for John Doe 1105. In this case, based on the date and time1125 b that the e-mail 1100 is being viewed, the supplemental contactinformation for John Doe indicates that the address “JDOE@AIM.COM” 1130b should be used to reach John Doe by e-mail.

As is true with respect to other drawings, the contact information maybe provided for individuals referenced in the header (e.g., To, From,cc) or body of the message, and may be formed of complete or partialnames or aliases, or by complete or partial reference to other contactinformation that is recognizable and that may be associated with theindividual. Furthermore, the pop-up window of FIGS. 11A and 11B, whileshown as being positioned so as to avoid overlap of the current message,may be positioned over, under, or away from the viewable area of themessage that references the individual.

In one exemplary implementation, an individual referenced in anelectronic message may make other supplemental information available torecipients of the electronic message based on the preferences of therecipient. A host system may facilitate this exchange of supplementalinformation by maintaining this other supplemental information for thereferenced individual and by enabling recipients to designate the othersupplemental information they desire to receive about referencedindividuals. For example, the host may maintain other supplementalinformation provided by the referenced individual, such as, for example,a type of PDA used, date of birth, clothes sizes, favorites (e.g., typeof food or restaurant), and other types of other supplementalinformation. A recipient, who also may subscribe to the host system, maydesignate what other supplemental information the recipient desires toreceive about referenced individuals, if that information is madeavailable by a referenced individual. For example, in addition tosupplemental contact information, a recipient also may want to receiveinformation about a referenced individual's favorite restaurant. As longas that information is made available by a referenced individual, thenthe recipient may receive that information.

While the general aspects described above relate to instant messagingand e-mail, other types of supplemental contact information such astelephone numbers, facsimile numbers, and mailing addresses for thereferenced individual may be displayed. In some implementations, allavailable supplemental contact information for a referenced individualis displayed. For example, a pull-down menu listing all supplementalcontact information for a referenced individual may be presented byclicking text or an icon associated with the referenced individual. Insuch cases, a subscriber may choose the manner in which to contact thereferenced individual. In other implementations, only the most efficientor reliable ways of contacting the referenced individual are displayed.For example, limited contact information such as a primary e-mailaddress, screen name, and telephone number may be displayed even ifother contact information is available.

Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device comprising: a display; and agraphical user interface produced on the display, the graphical userinterface comprising: a first interface portion displayed on thedisplay, the first interface portion comprising: an electronic messageassociated with a messaging medium; a first selectable identifier for afirst user within the electronic message, wherein the first usersubscribes to an online communication system; a selectable graphicalelement specific to the first user indicating that the first usersubscribes to the online communication system; and a second selectableidentifier for a second user within the electronic message, wherein thesecond user does not subscribe to the online communication system;wherein upon selection of the selectable graphical element, a secondinterface portion specific to the first user is displayed on thedisplay, the second interface portion including a messaging interfacefor communicating with the first user using the online communicationsystem; wherein upon selection of the first selectable identifier, athird interface portion specific to the first user is displayed on thedisplay, the third interface portion comprising a customized menu of oneor more options associated with the first user; and wherein uponselection of the second selectable identifier, a fourth interfaceportion specific to the second user is displayed on the display, thefourth interface portion comprising an option to invite the second userto subscribe to the online communication system.
 2. The computing deviceas recited in claim 1, wherein the third interface portion comprises aplurality of options for communicating via a plurality of differentelectronic messaging media with the first user.
 3. The computing deviceas recited in claim 1, wherein the selectable graphical element furtherindicates a real time presence of the first user on a second electronicmessaging medium.
 4. The computing device as recited in claim 3, whereinthe second electronic messaging medium comprises an instant messagesystem.
 5. The computing device as recited in claim 3, wherein theselectable graphical element comprises a logo corresponding to thesecond electronic messaging medium.
 6. The computing device as recitedin claim 1, wherein the third interface portion further comprisesadditional information for the first user, the additional informationcomprising one or more of an email address, a screen name, a telephonenumber, or a mailing address.
 7. The computing device as recited inclaim 1, wherein the second interface portion comprises an instantmessage interface.
 8. The computing device as recited in claim 1,wherein the first selectable identifier comprises a name.
 9. Thecomputing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the third interfaceportion comprises a pop-up window.
 10. The computing device as recitedin claim 9, wherein the third interface portion is displayed in aposition that avoids overlap with a body of the electronic message. 11.The computing device as recited in claim 9, wherein the third interfaceportion is displayed in a position that overlaps with a body of theelectronic message.
 12. The computing device as recited in claim 1,further comprising an option displayed in the third interface portion,the option being operable to add a co-user associated with the firstselectable identifier to a list of co-users.
 13. The computing device asrecited in claim 1, wherein the third interface portion furthercomprises a first option to send an instant message to the first userand a second option to send an email to the first user.
 14. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed, cause a computing system to: display afirst interface portion on a client device, the first interface portioncomprising: an electronic message associated with an electronicmessaging medium; a first selectable identifier for a first user withinthe electronic message, wherein the first user subscribes to an onlinecommunication system; a selectable graphical element specific to thefirst user indicating that the first user subscribes to the onlinecommunication system; and a second selectable identifier for a seconduser within the electronic message, wherein the second user does notsubscribe to the online communication system; display, in response to aselection of the selectable graphical element, a second interfaceportion specific to the first user, the second interface portionincluding a messaging interface for communicating with the first userusing the online communication system; and display, in response to aselection of the first selectable identifier, a third interface portionspecific to the first user comprising a customized menu of one or moreoptions associated with the first user; and display, in response to aselection of the second selectable identifier, a fourth interfaceportion specific to the second user comprising an option to invite thesecond user to subscribe to the online communication system.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 14,further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the computingsystem to: communicate with one or more remote servers to determine astatus of the first user; and customize the third interface portionbased on the determined status of the first user.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 15, furthercomprising instructions that, when executed, cause the computing systemto display, within the third interface portion, an option to send amessage to the first user.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium as recited in claim 16, wherein the third interfaceportion comprises a pop-up window.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 17, furthercomprising instructions that, when executed, cause the computing systemto display the third interface portion in a position that avoids overlapwith a body of the electronic message.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 18, furthercomprising instructions that, when executed, cause the computing systemto display a first option displayed in the third interface portion, thefirst option being operable to add the first user to a list of users.20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited inclaim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause thecomputing system to: display a first option in the third interfaceportion for sending an instant message to the first user; and display asecond option in the third interface portion for sending an email to thefirst user.
 21. A method comprising: displaying a graphical userinterface, the graphical user interface comprising: a first interfaceportion comprising: an electronic message associated with an electronicmessaging medium; a first selectable identifier for a first user withinthe electronic message, wherein the first user subscribes to an onlinecommunication system; a selectable graphical element specific to thefirst user indicating that the first user subscribes to the onlinecommunication system; and a second selectable identifier for a seconduser within the electronic message, wherein the second user does notsubscribe to the online communication system; displaying, in response toa selection of the selectable graphical element, a second interfaceportion specific to the first user, the second interface portionincluding a messaging interface for communicating with the first userusing the online communication system; displaying, in response to aselection of the first selectable identifier, a third interface portionspecific to the first user comprising a customized menu of one or moreoptions associated with the first user; and displaying, in response to aselection of the second selectable identifier, a fourth interfaceportion specific to the second user comprising an option to invite thesecond user to subscribe to the online communication system.
 22. Themethod as recited in claim 21, the one or more options comprising afirst selectable option displayed in the third interface portion forsending an instant message to the first user.
 23. The method as recitedin claim 22, the one or more options further comprising a secondselectable option displayed in the third interface portion for sendingan email to the first user.
 24. The method as recited in claim 23,wherein the first selectable identifier comprises a name.
 25. The methodas recited in claim 24, wherein the third interface portion comprises apop-up window.
 26. The method as recited in claim 25, wherein the thirdinterface portion is displayed in a position that avoids overlap with abody of the electronic message.
 27. The method as recited in claim 25,wherein the third interface portion is displayed in a position thatoverlaps with a body of the electronic message.
 28. The method asrecited in claim 23, the one or more options further comprising a thirdselectable option for adding the first user to a user list.
 29. Themethod as recited in claim 22, further comprising: communicating withone or more remote servers to determine a status of the first user; andcustomizing the third interface portion based on the determined statusof the first user.